1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a beverage/ice dispensing machine, and more particularly to a beverage/ice dispensing machine that is automatically activated. More particularly, the present invention relates to a touchless automatic fiber optic beverage/ice dispensing machine, which utilizes photoelectric fiber optic technology to activate ice and or beverage dispensing into a cup/container. Automatic dispensing occurs with neither the cup/container nor the person touching the machine in any way, in order to prevent transmitting of germs and diseases from person to person via the beverage/ice dispensing machine. Simplified machine cleaning results from the lack of cup/container push activation levers or push activation buttons or levers.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various types of beverage and ice dispensing machines have been available for some time. It is an extreme concern of health department inspectors that these machines be kept immaculately clean, and that the dispensing nozzles be removed, cleaned, and sterilized each day to kill germs, mold, and bacteria. Due to the moist nozzle surfaces, mold and mildew spreads rapidly. Add to that factor the presence of sugary syrup from soft drinks and other beverages, and the conditions are perfect for an extremely unsafe environment for diseases and germs to be spread from person to person via the beverage/ice dispensing machine.
Presently, these machines either require a user to push an activation button, or push the cup/container against a push activation lever in order to dispense beverages. Similarly, to dispense ice into the cup/container, a user has to push the cup/container against an ice push activation lever, or the user has to push an ice activation bar lever or button. When people push a button to dispense beverages or push an activation bar lever or button for ice, any germs present on the person""s hand are now on the machine. The beverage and ice dispensing nozzles are only a few inches below; germs can migrate to these openings and multiplyxe2x80x94thereby contaminating the beverages and or ice of future unsuspecting users.
It is common in fast food restaurants with xe2x80x9chelp yourselfxe2x80x9d type of beverage stations, for people to push these buttons or levers immediately after handling money at the order counter. After dispensing beverages, people handle french fries and hamburgers etc. while eating, and then return to the drink stations for refills. One can only imagine the diseases and germs on these push buttons and push levers when the person has saliva on their hands from handling food while eating. Add to that the unsanitary scenario of numerous unwashed hands touching the machine.
Beverage and ice cup/container push activation levers are also extremely unsafe. Health department inspectors frown on activation levers contacting the cup/container during refilling. Saliva and the accompanying germs and diseases on the cup/container rim and sides are transmitted to the machine on these lever surfaces. Germs and bacteria simply migrate up the push lever to the beverage and ice dispensing nozzles. Needless to say, the next person to dispense beverages and or ice into their clean cup/container, does not know that their beverage, ice, and cup/container will be contaminated, and their health possibly threatened by contact with diseases.
There have been automatic portion fill type of machines where the cup must sit on the drain grill on a specific spot below the beverage nozzle. Such is the case in U.S. Pat. No. 5,027,284 to Senghaas et al., issued on Jun. 25, 1991. Again, the same unsanitary push buttons for small, medium, large etc. make that design unsafe. In addition, putting a clean cup on the germ laden drain grill is unsanitary. When people get a refill or a beverage is not to their liking, they commonly empty any cup contents on top of the drain grill. Any germs and diseases that person had may now be transmitted to someone""s clean cup placed upon this drain grill, resulting in an unsuspecting person possibly contracting unknown germs and diseases.
An ultrasonic type of automatic beverage filling machine, such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,917,155 to Koblasz et al., issued on Apr. 17, 1990, suffers from the same unsanitary drain grill problem, as the clean cup must sit on the dirty, germ infested drain grill below the drink nozzle for automatic filling to take place. This is an unavoidable flaw in that design, as the ultrasonic sensor would send jumbled signals to its control circuitry if the person held their cupxe2x80x94and or moved the cup at all during filling. Placing these ultrasonic sensors so closely together in a dispensing machine would undoubtedly cause interference problems between sensors as multiple drinks are being dispensed. Ultrasonic proximity sensors are known to operate erratically during quick temperature changes, and when in the vicinity of heating and cooling air vents. Erratic operation may also arise from signals ricocheting from adjacent cups, or spilled ice etc. on the drain grill. If an ultrasonic pest repeller device were used in the vicinity, ultrasonic waves of a similar frequency blanketing the dispensing area and combining with these ultrasonic sensor waves, would likely cause erratic operation of the dispensing machine.
Again, for the machine to operate, the cup had to sit on a fixed reference point on the unsanitary drain grill. Mounds of dirty ice emptied from other people""s cups may prevent a cup from sitting in the correct spot. Nobody would want to use their hand or clean cup to move another person""s dirty ice out of the way. Additional disadvantages are: the impossibility of filling the cup to any desired level, the impossibility of dispensing any number of products into the same cup to create unique mixtures and flavors, and the impossibility of dispensing a drink into the cup if the ice level was above a certain point in the cup.
Likewise, U.S. Pat. No. 4,446,896, to Campagna, issued on May 8, 1984, suffered from the problem of a cup touching an unsanitary, germ ladened drain grill, wherein the cup had to sit in a certain position during filling. Sensor heads were used at various heights corresponding to certain small, medium, or large cupsxe2x80x94not allowing the freedom of obtaining proper filling while using any size cup at any time. Additional disadvantages are: the impossibility of filling the cup to any desired level, and the impossibility of dispensing any number of products into the same cup to create unique mixtures and flavors.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a touchless automatic fiber optic beverage/ice dispenser; one that is automatically activated by photoelectric fiber optic technology, without the person or cup/container touching the dispensing machine in any way, while preserving normal filling positioning with which the person is already accustomedxe2x80x94in order to prevent the spreading of germs and diseases from person to person via the dispensing machine.
The present invention is a touchless automatic fiber optic beverage/ice dispenser. Briefly stated, in accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a beverage/ice dispensing machine is provided for sanitary dispensation of products without the person or cup/container touching any part of the machine, to avoid germ and disease transmission from person to person via the dispensing machine. The beverage/ice dispensing machine includes a support structure optionally including a forwardly extending base which incorporates a drain with drain grill, and an upwardly extending front backdropxe2x80x94the backdrop being the front wall of the dispensing machine housing cabinet. Optionally, above the backdrop are located one or more beverage dispensing heads, and one or more ice chute members to dispense ice into a cup/container, from the ice hopper area inside the cabinet enclosure.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, automatic dispensing activation is provided based upon the presence or absence of a cup/container in an area below a dispensing nozzle, as detected by electronic proximity sensor circuitry, including, but not limited to photoelectric type of fiber optic technology, which activates control circuitry to achieve touchless automatic product dispensation.
In accordance with a further aspect of the present invention, a beverage/ice dispenser is provided wherein any size cup/container is hold in normal fashion below a beverage or ice dispensing nozzle to receive product flow, as touchless automatic dispensing ensues. Any number of products in various desired volumes may be dispensed to any level within the cup/container, to achieve customized mixtures as per user""s taste.
In accordance with a still further aspect of the present invention, a beverage/ice dispenser is provided that includes a filling indicator light corresponding to each product to be dispensed, signaling to the user that touchless automatic product dispensing is taking place.
In accordance with a yet still further aspect of the present invention, a touchless automatic beverage/ice dispenser is provided that includes lit fiber optic terminations below each of the beverage and or ice dispensing nozzles, guiding a user to hold the cup/container under the desired product dispensing nozzle to obtain product dispensation.
In accordance with an even further aspect of the present invention, a touchless automatic beverage/ice dispenser is provided that includes an xe2x80x9con/offxe2x80x9d mode selector control, to prevent undesired automatic product flow during machine cleaning, and to prevent unauthorized product dispensation.
In accordance with a yet further aspect of the present invention, a touchless automatic beverage/ice dispenser is provided wherein machine cleaning is greatly simplified, due to the streamlined design without cup/container push activation levers, or push activation buttons or levers.
In accordance with an even yet further aspect of the present invention, a beverage/ice dispenser is provided that enables a user to enjoy touchless automatic product dispensing activation in an effortless, sanitary manner, in which germs and diseases are not transmitted from person to person via the dispensing machine.